Urban-nesting peregrine falcons have colonized skyscrapers and bridges across North America and Europe, with specific welfare challenges and opportunities in human-dominated environments.
Urban peregrine welfare combines genuine opportunity — abundant prey, reduced predation — with novel hazards their evolution did not equip them to navigate. Glass, which peregrines cannot perceive as a barrier during high-speed pursuit, causes collisions that injure or kill birds. Fallen chicks require rescue and rehabilitation annually in cities with nest monitoring programs. The welfare-positive urban peregrine story depends on the infrastructure of monitoring, rehabilitation, and advocacy that has grown around these birds: nest cam programs that enable public engagement, rehabilitation facilities prepared for raptor care, and bird-safe glass advocacy that reduces collision risk across the urban landscape.